


Overcoming A Break-Up

by mailroomorder



Category: Glee
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, First Meetings, Fluff, Funny, M/M, Meet-Cute, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-17
Updated: 2016-03-17
Packaged: 2018-05-27 08:40:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,445
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6277507
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mailroomorder/pseuds/mailroomorder
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kurt knows what it's like to lose a nicely tailored jacket in the city, and he wouldn't want that to happen to someone else. So when someone leaves their jacket at the restaurant Kurt works at, he figures the least he can do is return it to its rightful owner. Even if said owner did dine and dash, forcing Kurt to pay his bill.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Overcoming A Break-Up

**Author's Note:**

> Based off this generic AU prompt: You dined and dashed in my restaurant but you left your coat behind.
> 
> Reblog on [Tumblr](url)

“You have  _ got  _ to be kidding me!” Kurt hears, and he immediately stops walking and  turns around, heading back towards the kitchen. That is  _ not _ a conversation he wants to interrupt.

 

He’s been watching this shit show of a break up for the last thirty minutes, and his heart aches for the guy who clearly did not see this coming. The worst part about this is that the restaurant Kurt works in is  _ packed _ , so this couple--well,  _ former _ couple now--is putting on a show for half of Midtown East. 

 

It’s like watching a car crash, but worse, because you can’t close your window or drive past it. Kurt’s stuck in the thick of it.

 

Because Kurt’s their server he doesn’t have the option of ignoring them completely, so he tries to time his visits with lulls in their conversation. Now, apparently, is not one of those times. So he tends to other tables instead as he tries to block out whatever verbal vitriol these guys are slinging at each other.

 

“Brian, I’m getting a  _ Master’s degree _ ,” the one guy says harshly, leaning forward. Kurt hasn’t been able to pick up on his name yet, and he can’t decide if he wants to know or if he just wants to forget this couple ever entered the restaurant. “You can’t honestly expect me to  _ not study _ just so I can go to a concert with you!”

 

“Oh my god,” Brian says, leaning back in his chair. “See,  _ this _ is the problem! It’s always about  _ you. _ It’s never about me or what I want.  _ You _ have to study, so we can’t go out ever.  _ You _ have no money, so we can’t go clubbing or take trips.  _ You _ have to have a job  _ while _ going to school--”

 

“It’s an internship! It’s mandatory!” the other guy shoots back, throwing his hands in the air.

 

“You know what--” Brian sighs, and Kurt’s at the table next to theirs refilling waters and  _ totally _ not becoming emotionally invested. “This isn’t even worth it. Goodbye.”

 

Brian scrapes his chair against the ground and stands up, walking away rather forcefully.

 

The other guy sits there looking completely affronted, and Kurt  _ has _ to pass his table to get back to the kitchen. He can’t exactly ignore the guy as he does that.

 

“Uhm. Can I...get you anything?” Kurt asks as he stands awkwardly in front of his customer. Kurt can’t help but notice how defeated and confused this guy looks, like he doesn’t exactly know what just went on in front of him.

 

“I’m fine, thanks,” the guys says quickly, almost harshly. Kurt hopes he’s annoyed at what just happened and not with Kurt himself.

 

Kurt nods and then heads back towards the kitchen. He rushes around to a few more of his tables, and the next time he looks he notices that the table is empty. There’s a jacket there, hanging on the back of one of the chairs, so Kurt refills the water cups so that when the guy gets back from the bathroom he’ll have a full glass.

 

Fifteen minutes later Kurt notices that the table is still empty, but the jacket is still there. It’s a Saturday night in Manhattan; there’s a wait for the restaurant and Kurt really needs the money. He can’t just let a table sit there all night, especially when it seems like both people up and ditched. So when the guy  _ still _ doesn’t show up after Kurt delivers burgers to one of his tables, he shakes his head in aggravation and clears the table. He tosses the uneaten food, grabs the jacket that was left there, and closes the tab out, using his tip money from the night to pay for it.

 

It’s not until a few hours later when Kurt is heading home on the subway that he’s able to search the jacket. It’s navy blue and has clearly been tailored--Kurt can tell. It’s not designer, but it’s still too nice to be forgotten. There’s no wallet, no keys, no money. Nothing of importance, really, except a Student ID from New York University and some index cards with neatly written definitions and other academia Kurt doesn’t quite understand. Flashcards, Kurt presumes.

 

The ID says Blaine Anderson on it, and it has a picture of a smiling boy with dark, curly hair looking far more excited to be in school than seems necessary. It’s definitely the same person from the restaurant that night, only happier and more carefree. 

 

Kurt pulls his phone out of his own pocket and opens Facebook, typing the name into the search bar. He feels weird doing it, but it’s a nice jacket, and having to replace a tailored suit jacket is a pain in the ass. And Kurt knows from experience that while losing a student ID isn’t the  _ worst _ thing in the world, having to pay twenty or so bucks for a new one is a pain in the ass. Plus, there’s probably about fifty flashcards in the inside pocket. If they’re school related then it really would be a shame to lose them and have to rewrite them all.

 

He finds Blaine Anderson pretty quickly, his profile picture being a close up of him smiling and leaning against a tree in some state park. He pulls up a blank message and begins to type.

 

_ Hi. This is super strange but my name is Kurt, I was your waiter tonight at Salvation Burger tonight. You left your jacket there and it has your student ID and some notecards. Not sure how important it is, but if you’re in the area I can meet you somewhere and drop it off. _

 

Kurt pockets his phone and forgets about the message for the next two hours while he takes the subway back to East Harlem and showers the disgusting grease off his body. By then it’s just past midnight, and Kurt pulls on a pair of boxer briefs and grabs his phone again to see what his friends are up to. He promised a few of them that if he was feeling up to it after work, he might go out and join them at the club. Now he’s not so sure it’s worth heading back downtown, especially since he lost over sixty bucks paying someone else’s tab.

 

There’s a Facebook notification--a message. And Kurt notices it’s from Blaine.

 

**Oh my god, thank you so much. I’m so sorry I left it there. I’m in upper Manhattan. Morningside. Is that near you?**

 

Kurt’s surprised to hear that. It’s not that he thought Blaine would live closer to NYU. He knows firsthand that Manhattan is expensive and that sometimes you have to chase the cheap housing deals even if it means being so far away from school. But that’s in his neck of the woods. On the other side of the island, but still up north.

 

_ Yeah, actually. I’m in East Harlem. When are you free? _

 

Kurt answers a few texts from friends, still debating if it’s worth it to go out. By the time he gets anywhere it’ll be well after one in the morning, and he’s had a long day.

 

**Assuming you heard the entire conversation tonight, it’s safe to say I’ll be free for the foreseeable future.**

 

Kurt bites his lip and looks at the jacket that’s lying at the foot of his bed.

 

_ Wanna meet up now? I just got back from work. We can meet halfway. _

 

They agree to meet on a street corner near Marcus Garvey Park, first because it’s in public, but also because it’s around the corner from where Kurt lives and Blaine feels bad making Kurt walk far--or even worse, pay for a cab--just so he can give a stranger a jacket.

 

Kurt throws on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt and tells his friends that he’s going to pass on going out tonight, and he walks the few blocks to the park, eager to part with the jacket that doesn’t belong to him.

 

When he gets to the assigned corner, he sees Blaine standing there and awkwardly looking around until he spots Kurt.

 

“Kurt, right?” he asks when Kurt approaches, the jacket slung neatly over his arm.

 

“Yeah,” Kurt says, extending his free hand.

 

Blaine takes it, squeezing firmly. “Blaine,” he replies. “I’m  _ so  _ sorry for tonight. That was...unexpected, and totally not appropriate for a public venue.”

 

Kurt waves it off and hands Blaine the jacket. “No problem. Not the first time that’s happened. Probably the loudest though,” he smiles wanly, hoping to interject some lightness into the conversation.

 

“I’ll be sure to add Salvation Burger to my list of places I need to avoid.”

 

“Long list?” Kurt asks, putting his hands in the pocket of his brown leather jacket. It’s spring and the weather is nice, though without the sun shining it’s venturing on a bit nippy.

 

“This brings it to a solid four,” Blaine smiles. “Though one of those places is a movie theater in Ohio. And before you say anything, it has  _ nothing _ to do with sex! I worked there for four hours before completely breaking their only popcorn machine and causing irreparable damage to the wires it was connected to. It cost the theater hundreds of dollars to fix, and I was fired on the spot. I still won’t make popcorn.”

 

Kurt laughs lightly. “Post Traumatic Popcorn Disorder. I’ve heard it’s pretty common.”

 

“It’s also nearly impossible to overcome. To this day I make my dates cook all the popcorn. Though, I guess I’ll be going without popcorn for a while now.”

 

Kurt winces, not sure what to say next. He wasn’t sure if broaching the topic of Blaine’s public break up was off limits or not. But to be honest, he wasn’t expecting to still be talking to Blaine. He sort of expected to just hand Blaine the jacket and leave. He contemplated asking for a refund for Blaine’s dine-and-dash, but felt like in the end it wasn’t worth it. He doubts Blaine intentionally meant to do it, or even realizes that he did, and the pros of working on a Saturday night means that Kurt still walked away with money in his pocket, even after the unexpected splurge.

 

Plus, Kurt doesn’t want to kick someone when they’re already down and out. He’ll consider this his good deed of the month.

 

“Popcorn’s overrated. Ice cream’s better,” Kurt says instead, rolling on the balls of his feet.

 

“Right now I’m still in the incredulous, unbelievable,  _ did that just really happen?!  _ stage. But I’m sure next week on what was supposed to be our one year anniversary, I’ll be well into the  _ why does life hate me, I’ll never find love _ stage. Alternately known as the Ice Cream and Sad Music stage.”

 

“Followed immediately by the  _ who the fuck does he think he is?! _ stage. Colloquially known as the  _ I’m better without him! I’m going to join a gym and get in shape and make loads of new friends and go on so many dates! Fuck him! _ stage.”

 

“I see you’ve survived the Four Stages of a Break-Up,” Blaine grins.

 

Kurt rolls his eyes. “Lord, too many times to count. I once almost wore through a Joy Division vinyl when trying to overcome a break-up. I like to pretend it was during my emotional teenage years, but truthfully it was only a year ago,” Kurt says conspiratorially.

 

“Ooh! Good idea! ‘Love Will Tear Us Apart.’ Perfect break up song. I’ll be sure to cry to that in a few days.”

 

Kurt laughs despite himself. “I can lend you the record if you want. You might need it more than me.”

 

“I have to stock up on good break up music anyway. Maybe we can meet up soon and raid some used record shelves? I feel like I owe you a coffee or something for not stealing my jacket. And for making me laugh on what is probably the second most embarrassing day of my life.”

 

“What’s the first?” Kurt asks curiously.

 

Blaine winces. “I took a first aid class in high school so I could be a lifeguard, and I popped a boner during the CPR lesson while lying on my back with an incredibly attractive older teenager leaning over me and pretending to save my life.”

 

“Harsh,” Kurt says, grimacing as he imagines how horrible that must have been. “Life definitely can’t get worse than that.”

 

“No, it really can’t,” Blaine replies, perking up. “So, coffee? Records? I sort of have an open schedule aside from work and classes. I can schedule you in before or after that emotional breakdown I’m expecting to have.”

 

Kurt grins and runs his hand through his unkempt hair that’s still a bit damp from his shower. He’s not sure if it’s because it’s so late out and that things are just  _ different _ when the sun goes down, or if he’s just being overly ambitious, but he feels like he could really get along with this Blaine guy. He feels like maybe hanging out with him for an hour or so won’t be a bad thing. Hell, maybe he’ll even make a friend out of it.

 

“How’s tomorrow? Or like,” Kurt pauses and looks down at his watch, noticing it’s past one in the morning, “today. I can help you stock up on tear inducing albums.”

 

Blaine nods. “I have to get some studying done, but are you free in the afternoon? We can go to lunch in the Village and then peruse some shops. I know of a few record stores there--”

 

“On Bleeker Street,” Kurt interjects with a grin. “I’ve been living in the city for a bit,” he explains.

 

“A New York veteran then. Maybe you know of a few more places than me. So I’ll uh, message you in the morning? We can head out around noon?”

 

“That works for me,” Kurt says, his hands still in his pocket. 

 

Great,” Blaine smiles, and they stand there for a moment a foot or so apart, looking at each other. “Well, I’ll see you tomorrow, Kurt,” Blaine says, throwing up a little half wave.

 

Kurt nods and watches as Blaine turns around and walks towards the street, waiting for the walk signal to turn green. Kurt doesn’t head back home until after he sees Blaine cross.

 

That night he pulls out his small record collection and picks his four favorite albums to listen to after a break-up. He puts them on top of his dresser before shedding his clothes and hopping under his covers. 

 

He doesn’t want to forget to give them to Blaine tomorrow.

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Reblog on [Tumblr](url)
> 
> I don't write fluff often because I suck at it. Hope you enjoyed it! Comments? Questions? Concerns?


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